Blackpool Celtic pay the penalty as Imogeela move on to the next round of the Munster Junior Shield
The Imogeela side that had a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory over Blackpool Celtic in the Munster Junior Shield at Popham's Road.
Both sides exchanged an equal amount of control from the off until the 20th minute when Blackpool Celtic created the first chance of note.
A cross from the right was met by Kyle O’Keeffe who saw his audacious bicycle kick strike the bar before going wide.
Another chance followed for Blackpool ten minutes later when Jason Hawthorn completed a darting run before whipping in a cross to the waiting Rob Thompson who drilled a decent effort narrowly over from the edge of the box.
Imogeela did have a chance on the stroke of half-time when Victor Mirea collected a long clearance from his keeper before embarking on a run which saw him make in-roads towards the Blackpool goal, but he was eventually denied by a terrific save from Willie Matthews who produced a big block with his feet.
After a highly competitive first 45 involving both sides, the ice was broken after just four minutes into the second period when Imogeela’s Charles Daly made a terrific run which saw him slalom past three opponents before unleashing a sparkling strike that flew past Matthews before nestling in the net.
Imogeela came so close for their second later when from Ryan Sexton’s free kick, Kalem Hennessy headed over near the far post while unattended to waste a great chance.
But it was all square once again on 66 when Kyle O’Keeffe controlled from Chris O’Callaghan’s cross on the right before befuddling his marker to place a lovely finish high into the Imogeela net and restore parity.
A chance to clinch the tie then fell for Blackpool Celtic around 80 minutes when Osman Saybit let fly with a terrific effort – only to be denied by a super save from Imogeela’s keeper Ewan Nimpenny when he went full stretch to prevent the ball hitting the target, which in the end meant the tie had to enter extra time to see if a winner could emerge.
And what a chance fell for Blackpool Celtic in the 99th minute when Shane Hurley could not believe that his volley which was heading for the top corner from 25 yards out was headed over by an Imogeela defender.
Imogeela had their moment also in extra time when on 108 minutes, James McConnell skipped by two defenders before drilling agonizingly over from 18 yards out, but in the end, the tie had to be settled with the dreaded penalty shoot-out and it was here that Imogeela proved more accurate after running out as 5-4 winners.
Both goalkeepers played exceptionally well for their teams.
Blackpool Celtic’s Willie Matthews produced some big saves as did Imogeela’s Ewan Nimpenny.
Elsewhere, Richmond took over second spot in League 1 after an emphatic 5-0 victory over Hibernians at Shanbally.
Although the result was convincing in the end, the opening exchanges were even enough, but when a terrific effort from Oliver Calley nestled in the net to fire Richmond in front on 25 minutes, it seemed to have changed the whole balance of play.
And it was 2-0 at the break when a good finish from Russ extended Richmond’s lead.
Richmond exploded out of the blocks as the second half commenced and it was Russ who struck again just one minute into this period to add number three and he was denied a hat-trick when his attempted effort to find the corner came off a Hibernian’s defender before wrong-footing the host’s keeper to end up in the net for number four.
With just ten minutes remaining to the action, Oliver Calley claimed his second and his side’s fifth when he produced a lovely finish, following neat build up play.
Best for Richmond was Oliver Calley who is showing some terrific form of late.
App?
